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Tell

It's Friday and I'm linking up with Kate at Five Minute Fridays
so get ready for five (or ten) and write about the word Tell http://katemotaung.com
I read these words quietly as birds sing morning cadence and all is quiet for a little while longer,"Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in His name." (John 20:30-31, ASV) This is the signature at the end of this almost last chapter of John. And I love it.
I love the way it assures us that there was much that happened that God did not tell us about, He left us out, but He wants us to know what we do know, what He did tell is enough. It's enough for us to know That Jesus is the Son of God and it's enough to know, to believe, and then to seize the eternal life that is in His name. We are told enough when we are told Jesus.
There's something comforting about knowing that God is answering the question of "What else?" with an affirmative there is more, but this is what is necessary. So Believe it. Take hold of the truth that is in front of you. Do not be concerned about the what else as much as you are about embracing the already revealed Truth. I like that. It confronts all our excuses and questions. It also responds to our heart of wonder and child like curiosity.
So many times we want to know more, to be told fully and yet in this mystery of all that God has revealed of Himself and hasn't in the Bible, somehow we are told all we need to know right now. All we can handle really.
As sure as our ears burn to be told things that don't matter, our hearts burn to be told more of hope, more of peace, more of Him. How often we do not access what we have been told in His Word simply because we are waiting for someone else to tell us something else, something less?

The last chapter of John mirrors more of the same message when it closes out the final chapter of John's testimony saying, " And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that should be written." I have longed loved this glimpse of the more John gives us. Yes there's more, but we have enough. It makes the kid in me smile big at what all that 'more' could be and makes me happy that John let us in on the edges of all the glory that He beheld.

Even still, we have enough to have our hearts burn within us that when we read the red of Jesus we read the truth. We are compelled. Like the disciples walking those dusty trails unaware of Jesus walking beside them telling them the scriptures. They voice what our hearts know, "Was not our heart burning within us, while He spake to us in the way, while He opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32).
It is not for most of us what we do not know, it is what we do know that we try to grapple with, ignore, stiffle, or are afraid of. All of the crowds of people and Pharisees especially should have recognized who Jesus was. All the miracles and prophecy told them who He was. But their hearts refused the telling.
We can smile assured that we know enough, we certainly know enough to embrace Jesus.
And we also are empowered to go tell our stories of knowing Jesus. That is the transfer, the charge from Jesus. To tell of Him. To tell the Gospel of heart change that comes from the radical love of God. We have been told enough and we have enough to tell.
And one day we will be much more in the know,
1 Corinthians 13:12 promises, "For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known."

There will be a day when all these open ended sentences, heart question marks, and dark doubts will be forever silenced when we are told all in the presence of Him.

And for all the dark doubt of why that creeps in to eclipse our hearts and hang our faith low we are lavishly told enough when it comes to the question of "do we matter?"

Really many times this is at the core what is the matter with us. In the face of all this pain, do we matter?

This is the heart of the matter: Do we matter to God?

We know with our heart that He is as real as all this wild world He sat into motion. Even still do we matter to Him?

Its forever answered in the blood soaked, flesh torn body of Christ. There is no better answer to that question. We matter. We've been told the beautiful answer in the grandest display of love imaginable. He answered that question with all of Himself, so that we might put that question forever to rest. He tells us with blood dripping down his face as He asks His Father to forgive them that know not what they do, "You matter to God."

The answer to that question tells us what our soul most needs to know. Tells us what those around us most need to know. We matter to a Holy loving God so much so that He stopped at nothing to show us. We really do have more than enough to tell.

So very glad we matter. Even as a movie leaves out the details of a book leave out the details of a 3 dimensional life. The main thing is what we do know. We matter to God. And he knows us completely, better than we know ourselves. Remembers my life better than I do. Craziness.

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